BACKSPOT, the highly anticipated feature film debut by multi-hyphenate creator/director D.W. Waterson (That’s My DJ), executive produced by Elliot Page, will have its World Premiere this September at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The film boasts a stellar cast that includes Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs, Marvel’s Echo), Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld, Thirteen), Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight’s Tale, Wristcutters: A Love Story, 40 Days and 40 Nights), newcomer Kudakwashe Rutendo, Thomas Antony Olajide (Learn to Swim, White Lie), Olunike Adeliyi (The Porter, Revenge of the Black Best Friend), and Canadian icon Wendy Crewson (On the Basis of Sex, Room, Gray). D.W. Waterson and several cast members are expected to attend the Festival.

Riley (Devery Jacobs) is the formidable backspot on her mid-level cheerleading squad until professional coach Eileen McNamara (Evan Rachel Wood) gives her an opportunity to join the Thunderhawks, a high performance All Star team. Young, ambitious and fiercely in love with her girlfriend Amanda (Kudakwashe Rutendo), Riley would be on top of the world if only she could get her crippling anxiety under control. Desperate to be heard and appreciated, two qualities her home life severely lacks, Riley will do anything to ingratiate herself to her new coach. Overwhelmed, obsessive and with a competition looming, this young, queer athlete must decipher her own voice from the women around her, and form a healthier relationship to the sport that she loves.